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Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN: Multimedia Geoportrait

Created by Linn Clawson, Juneau, Alaska

Students compose a multimedia geoportrait of their community.

Social Studies Standards Addressed

Key Teaching Strategies

Brainstorming
Cooperative learning
Field studies
Flow charts
Inquiry and Research

Grade level

Middle School

Materials

Completed geosketches to use as examples
Computer template organized according to 6 topics
Appropriate computer hardware and software

Procedures

1. Define "geoportrait" and "geosketch." Show examples of geoportraits or geosketches. Discuss: who is the audience for a geoportrait? What information does it contain? How can students find the information they need to produce a geoportrait of your community?

2. On the board, make a 6-column chart, one column for each of the 6 geography standards. The class brainstorms ways to find information for each of those topics. Column headings are:

3. Introduce the idea of a multimedia geoportrait. Compare it with the printed geoportrait. For instance, there will be less text and more visuals, since audio supplements will replace much of the text.

4. Brainstorm the design of the project. Divide the class into groups, assigning to each group one of the topics. Distribute a master "stack" template based on the 6 topics. This ensures shared layouts, labels, functions, uses of color, and graphics. Assign group coordinators so that information and graphics will not be duplicated among the 6 groups.

5. Each group writes a report on its topic, then decides on audio and visual components. Students review the written reports and shorten them as appropriate. Set a word limit; for instance, each geosketch may be no longer than 100 words. Students must credit all sources.

6. Each student prepares an author page/screen on which are: photo or video segment, a brief biographical statement, and voiced statement.

7. Each group presents its geosketch. The rest of the class reviews and critiques it. Authors make final revisions before all 6 are linked together. The final geoportrait may be too large to store on a single floppy, but should be stored on a hard drive, or CD ROM disk.

Assessment

Teacher and students assess group work processes.
Teacher assesses written reports.
Students assess geosketches and final geoportrait.

Applications Across the Curriculum

 

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Created by Jody Smothers Marcello, Sitka, Alaska

Students study Russia and the breakup of the USSR, with an emphasis on the new nations resulting from the dissolution.

Social Studies Standards Addressed

Key Teaching Strategies

Cooperative learning
Inquiry
Research

Grade level

Middle School

Length of project

Several weeks

Materials

Procedures

1. Students work in cooperative groups to generate a map of the region, including placement of puzzle pieces of each nation in its proper location. Students label each nation.

2. Students discuss the breakup of USSR, the resulting new nations, and the regions into which these nations can be grouped.

3. Students work in pairs to explore and analyze the former Soviet Republics using a computerized atlas program, working step-by-step through the program.

4. Each pair of students examines one new country in depth and creates a large, poster-sized map of the nation.

Assessment

1. Students are asked to accurately label a map of all new nations in the former USSR and categorize them into the appropriate regions.

2. Teacher observes each student in turn work through the computerized atlas program to answer a new question about the former Soviet Republics, noting steps independently achieved as well as those for which the student needs prompting.

3. Student posters are assessed, noting in particular the cartography and artistry.

4. Teacher interviews each student pair about its poster and nation, and scores students according to an oral presentation rubric.

5. Student interviews are videotaped and shown to students. They complete a self-assessment of both their map and their interview.

Applications Across the Curriculum

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Student Debate

Created by Sammy Crawford, Kenai, Alaska

Students debate a current issue, learning both how to present a persuasive argument, and specific information about a current topic.

Social Studies Standards Addressed

Key Teaching Strategies

Debate Cooperative learning

Grade levelv

High school

Length of project

1 to 2 weeks

Materials

Procedures

1. Students sign up for a topic in teams of two. They should have a choice of topics. In teams, they research their topics. Each team must have an annotated bibliography containing at least 3 sources before debate can begin.

2. Hold a vote on the issue before the debate to determine a baseline of student opinion.

3. Review the debate rules:

4. Round 1 proceeds as follows:

5. After the break, Round 2 begins.

6. Hold a second vote to gauge the effectiveness of the debate teams. Discuss the debate as a class.

Assessment

Students assess the effectiveness of the arguments through discussion and voting.

Teacher assesses knowledge of debaters and attention of the audience through written or oral evaluation.

Applications Across the Curriculum

 

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Alaska's Current Issues

Created by Brenda Campen, Sitka, Alaska

The introductory lesson to a semester-long course, Alaska Issues, involves student discussion and discovery of the salient current issues facing the state.

Social Studies Standards Addressed

Key Teaching Strategies

Problem solving through brainstorming and discussion

Grade level

High school
Length of activity
1 class period (50 to 60 minutes)

Materials

Procedures

1. In groups of 3 to 5, students brainstorm and generate a list of Alaska issues based on news articles, television news, or other sources. Different students act as facilitator, recorder, etc. Each group posts a list of topics on the wall.

2. The class reassembles to examine and discuss the group lists. Students note frequency of topics, diversity of topics. Students discuss the question: "What do these lists tell us about what concerns Alaskans?"

3. A class topic list is generated which includes all topics, prioritized by frequency.

4. The entire class works to categorize the topic list into two jurisdictional areas:

5. From the list of topics within the domain of state and local governments, and with guidance from the teacher, the students discuss and select the 3 or 4 topics the class will investigate during the semester. All other topics remain available to students for a community project or annotated bibliography. (Federal and tribal issues are usually covered through the annotated bibliography and in the one-semester government class the students take.)

Assessment

Applications Across the Curriculum

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